Shinigami (死神, "death god(s)"; English dub Soul Reaper(s)) are a race of spiritual beings that act as enforcers and psychopomps who all share similar supernatural powers. They are souls with a high level of innate Spiritual Energy, recruited from the ranks of the residents and nobility of the Soul Society. Like all spirits, they cannot be detected by normal humans. Shinigami use their Zanpakutō, supernatural swords that are the manifestation of their owners' power, to perform soul burials on Pluses. Shinigami also use their Zanpakutō as well as magic known as Kidō to fight their arch-enemies, the Hollows.
Shinigami are souls that have supernatural powers. As such, their bodies are composed of Spiritrons (spirit particles) instead of atoms. This means that just like most other types of spirits, they can only be seen by other spiritually aware entities, which excludes most humans. Nevertheless, they are quite capable of influencing their environment. When souls with exceptional spiritual energy train their bodies, they reach the level of Shinigami. The most talented of them become affiliated with various organizations like the Thirteen Court Guard Companies and the Stealth Force. Sometimes, a Shinigami is born among the residents of the Rukongai, and in some rare cases from Seireitei.
Shinigami are the personification of death. Their job is to send spirits to the Soul Society (the afterlife) in order to maintain a balance of souls between it and the material world, and to exorcise evil spirits. Because of their duties Shinigami possesses supernatural abilities such as:
- Longevity: While they can age and die of natural causes or as a result of physical injury as regular humans, Shinigami have extended life-spans and it is not uncommon for one to live for thousands of years.
- Enhanced Endurance: While they can be injured and die like regular humans, it takes considerably greater injuries for the latter to occur than it would in regular humans.
- Reiryoku: Shinigami also naturally give off Spiritual Energy, which varies greatly in magnitude with the strength of a Shinigami. Additionally, unlike humans, they do not have to eat anything to sustain themselves, though they engage in the act none the less as Shinigami and other spiritual beings only become hungry when they used too much Spiritual Energy within a short amount of time.
- Kidō: The technique that Shinigami use to focus their Spiritual Energy into magic spells of various powers.
- Hadō (Destructive spells): refer to offensive spells which harm an enemy or cause damage.
- Bakudō (Binding spells): are a broad category of defensive spells which block or repel attacks or freezes enemies in place.
- Healing spells: do not have known names, numbers, or incantations to cast, and simply heal the target. As the user holds his hands above the patients wounds, his/her palms glow with green spiritual energy to facilitate healing. For the mechanics of healing, the patient's Reiatsu is replenished first. Then the body's Reiatsu works with the healer's Reiatsu to heal the patient's body.
- Hohō: A variety of techniques associated with movement, including jumping and shunpo (flash step).
- Zanpakutō: The most prominent supernatural power possessed by a Shinigami is their Zanpakutō, a supernatural sword (commonly in the form of a katana) generated from the Shinigami's soul. A Zanpakutō is a physical manifestation of this force concentrated into a blade. All Shinigami have a Zanpakutō, but not all of them carry one with them.
As Arrancar also possess a form of Zanpakutō, the skill to wield one is similar to that of a Shinigami. Like a normal Shinigami's Zanpakutō, in addition to its basic form, its release allows the Arrancar another form termed Resurrección, which unlocks the sealed Hollow form of the wielder.
AppearanceMost Shinigami appear like Humans, a notable difference being their mostly old-fashioned garments by 20th-21th century standards (see uniforms at Gotei 13 and at Onmitsukidō), and their Zanpakutō which is in most cases tied to their obi sash.
There are, however, a few Shinigami who are less Human-like in appearance. For example it seems that between Shinigami there are much greater variations in body-sizes than between Humans, as there are real giant-like entities (e. g. the four guards of the four gates to Seireitei) and also ones with extremely small stature among them. This variation seems to occur not just between Shinigami, but also between regular dwellers of Soul Society, too.
Variations do not just occur in size but in overall appearance, too.
DutiesSoul Burial (
konsō): the process by which a Shinigami sends wandering Pluses (souls) in the living world and send them to their respective place. Either Soul Society if they are good in life, or to Hell if their life was full of evil acts (such as murders, theft, etc). Soul Burial is performed by using the hilt of the Shinigami's Zanpakutō, tapping the soul on the head and transporting them to the afterlife.
Hollow Cleansing: When a Shinigami slays a Hollow (evil spirit), with their Zanpakutō they cleanse their sins. Once this takes place a Hollow will return to its former state as a Plus and is led into Soul Society. This is called sublimation. Souls that live in the Soul Society are reborn again into the human world. Not all Hollows are sent to the Soul Society. Hollows that committed serious crimes when they were alive are sent to Hell.
Also, if they are destroyed by a Quincy, Hollows are completely vanquished and cannot ever return to the Soul Society.
Soul Governance: Shinigami are responsible for governing the flow of spirits between the human worlds and Soul Society. This is commonly carried out by balancing the total number of souls by moving and managing them in the human world. All of the soul-related jobs are under their authority
TrainingShinōreijutsuin (Spiritual Arts Academy): sometimes called the Shinigami Academy. The majority of training for individuals (that is, souls residing in the Soul Society) wanting to become Shinigami is done through the Shinigami Academy. It is a six-year academy, during which time its students learn how to use their Spiritual Energy properly, fight Hollows, and perform Soul Burials. While the exact date and details of its foundation are not specified, the academy seems to have been founded by Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai about 2000 years before the Bleach storyline.
Not much is known about the conditions on which a dweller of the Soul Society is admitted to the Academy. One elementary requirement seems to be that the individual has to possess a certain, above-average level of Spiritual Energy, and has to be able to perform some basic feats using that. Becoming hungry seems to be a good sign in Soul Society for hopeful Shinigami candidates, because feeling hunger means that the person in question is capable of using up Spiritual Energy.
It is at the Spiritual Arts Academy where all the military forces of Soul Society are formally taught. While a majority of students are taken into the main force namely the Gotei 13. There are those who have a special affinity for certain forms of combat that get taken in by the two more secretive and selective branches of the military, namely the Kidō Corps (excelling in Kidō) and the Onmitsukidō (excelling in Hohō & Hakuda).
The Shinigami Academy is one of two groups that is not under the jurisdiction of the Central 46 Chambers.
CombatThe cleansing of Hollows is very dangerous task, as most Hollows are no more than mindless monsters thirsty for devouring more and more souls, be it a Plus, a Human soul still in its body, or a Shinigami. Moreover, Hollows who have some of their human consciousness remaining are even more dangerous, as they can be swift, strong and cunning adversaries, utilizing various tricks to avoid purification and catch their prey.
Taking these facts into consideration, Shinigami have to be highly trained in defending themselves and other spirits from being devoured, while being able to land a critical strike on the Hollow itself with their Zanpakutō.
Zankensoki: basic Shinigami fighting techniques. Zan refers to sword fighting techniques. Ken refers to unarmed fighting techniques. So refers to moving techniques. Ki refers to Kidō. All of which require the controlled usage of a varying amount of Spirit Energy.
Kidō are a type of sorcery used by Shinigami. They can be used for various purposes, such as healing, attacking, and restraining. Healing seems to be a more general skill, while attacking and binding require an incantation to be recited beforehand. Demon arts spells are divided into two major groups: destructive spells, used for direct attack, and binding spells, which are spells that restrain someone or have other effects. These forms of demon arts spells are performed by calling out a complicated and often long-winded incantation followed by the name of the spell, which causes an effect once the name has been recited. Lesser versions of the spells can be used by calling out the name alone, but their effectiveness is reduced when used in such a fashion.
HakudaHand-to-hand combat is not elaborated upon by the majority of Shinigami. The Onmitsukidō troops, however, especially those of higher ranks such as Soifon, are known to be well-trained in this field.
Agility(Hohō)like hand-to-hand combat, is not elaborated upon by every Shinigami. Flash steps (Shunpo), a movement technique that allows the user to move faster than the eye can follow, is implied to be part of this category, and most (though not all) Shinigami are able to perform it to some degree. Another skill, though not necessarily related, is the ability of some Shinigami to walk on air using spiritual power. By collecting and solidifying spiritual particles beneath their feet, Shinigami can gain traction on thin air to either freely move about or to stop themselves from falling.
Zanjutsu(swordsmanship) is the most used form of combat among Shinigami, since their Zanpakutō is the most effective way of dispatching any given opponent. As the name suggests, it involves using a Zanpakutō and its various special abilities to attack an opponent. In addition to its basic form, each Zanpakutō has two enhanced forms: Shikai ("initial release") and Bankai ("final release"), which change the sword's form to unlock its potential and that of its user.
Mission AidsTo aid in their missions, particularly when said missions involve more than simply dispatching a Hollow, Shinigami have a number of unique items to assist them in their duties. In addition, it should be noted that all Shinigami captains and lieutenants have their spiritual energy reduced by about 80% when they enter the human world by use of a spiritual limit, represented by a seal resembling the symbol unique to their division, in order not to cause unnecessarily high damage while there. In extreme cases where their full power is needed, they can request a limit release. The symbol suppressing the powers of the Shinigami is called the Gentei Kaijo.
Skull Symbol: Though not officially named, it seems to be an important tool for Shinigami during missions in the real world. It can basically force out one's spirit from a human body or a Gigai (see also below), a human soul or an artificial one alike (see also below). Rukia Kuchiki has a glove which has this skull symbol on it, and she uses this glove several times to force Ichigo out of his body. Kisuke Urahara also has a skull symbol on the end of his cane, which can be used in the same manner. The skull also appears on Ichigo's Seal of Approval (see below). They always touch Ichigo's forehead with the symbol, it is unknown if pressing the symbol against other body parts has the same effect or not(Uryū Ishida uses Ichigo's seal to remove Nova's soul by striking it on his thigh, it seems poking the forehead is only done for dramatic reasons).
Hell Butterflies are completely black butterflies that serve various purposes. They guide the Shinigami through the Senkaimon when travelling between the Soul Society and the Human World, thereby saving them from the inconvenience of passing through the Dangai Precipice World. Hell Butterflies are also used as messengers between Shinigami, often carrying important orders. It is implied that Hell Butterflies are bred and taken care of by Shinigami in Seireitei, the latter task being carried out usually by new and inexperienced members of the Gotei 13. Hell Butterflies, like the Shinigami themselves, are only visible to spiritually aware beings.
In certain circumstances, a Shinigami will need a way to stay in the human world for long periods of time, interact with the living, and/or recover their powers when the need arises, all of which they cannot do in spirit form. Thus, the
Gigai was developed.
Artificial souls as the name suggests, are souls designed by Shinigami scientists to separate a Shinigami's spirit from a Gigai, should they be inhabiting one, or to evict stubborn spirits from their corpses if necessary. It is commonly called Soul Candy, as the Shinigami Women's Association complained that the name "Artificial Soul" was not cute and had it changed.
[b]Memory Replacement[b]: In some cases, a human witnesses a Shinigami purify a Hollow or affect his surroundings in a significant way. To keep the incident a secret, Shinigami perform memory replacement with an item called Kikanshinki (記換神機). When used, a bird's head pops from the top of the device and produces a puff of smoke. The human it is used on is knocked unconscious and wakes up a while later with a new memory. However, the new memory that the human acquires is random and often based on the limits of what they themselves will believe.
"Some information borrowed from the Bleach.wikia.com, and altered to fit the roleplaying standards of Bleach Online."
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